Our Higher Education bargaining team has declared impasse in negotiations.
Declaring impasse doesn't mean that bargaining stops, but it does preserve our right to strike if management doesn't make genuine movement at the table to settle this contract.
Our bargaining team met with management for mediation on August 5 and 6 at OSU's Portland campus. We made some progress, but let's be clear-eyed about what management is still bringing to the table: proposals that strip our rights during the layoff process, open the door to outsourcing and contracting out our jobs, cut our healthcare, and guarantee our pay keeps falling behind the actual cost of living. That's not a serious offer for a fair contract. It's a message that management still isn't listening to classified employees, and we won't accept it.
Haven’t signed the strike pledge yet? This is the single biggest thing you can do right now to help win a fair contract: sign the strike pledge.
We are already seeing record numbers of workers signing the pledge. Every signature tells management we are united, and the more of us who sign, the more power our bargaining team has to fight for a fair contract. The clock is ticking, and that power is in our hands.
Already taken the pledge? Keep going. Wearing purple, showing up to rallies and actions, and emailing university presidents are already moving management, and they're a big part of why we've won ground so far. Don't let up. Share this update with your coworkers who haven't signed yet, and share our strike pledge FAQ if they have questions.
Bargaining Update
- A two-year contract, with cost-of-living adjustments matching inflation each year.
- Longevity differential increase of 0.5% for every five years worked.
- Maintain steps both years.
- Maintain health insurance plans.
- Retain current contract language for reduced Meal Plan at UO and OSU.
- A parking discount for lowest paid workers.
- A four-year contract with a single guaranteed COLA of 0.75% in January 2027. Their proposal also includes an opportunity to come back to the bargaining table in 2028 to renegotiate economics.
- A step freeze for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Steps as normal in the other three years.
- Eliminate the guarantee of a low-cost option for health insurance (which could mean thousands of us are paying more for health insurance while our wages are frozen).
- We won new language on Transgender Rights in the No Discrimination article.
- We won increased access to Personnel Records to allow stewards to better represent coworkers during disciplinary and grievance procedures.
- We successfully fought off attacks to the Vacation, Sick Leave and Discipline articles.
We withdrew our union proposals on AI and a 32-hour workweek pilot program.